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Post by bluesbruce on Oct 11, 2014 9:49:12 GMT -6
Jack's post in the 12/8 thread about getting the Rhythmic Lead Playing book got me to thinking about a thread other "non-BYCU" books that you've found helpful or useful. We seem to have several of us guitar instruction book junkies on here, so I'd like to ask for comments on other books people have found good, and why. Doesn't have to be blues, just any particular guitar instruction book you've found really good. I'll go first: "The Art of Solo Fingerpicking" by Mark Hanson here's an Amazon link: www.amazon.com/Art-Solo-Fingerpicking-Alternating-Bass-Fingerstyle/dp/093679903X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413042037&sr=1-3&keywords=mark+hansonI bought this book over 20 years ago (early 1990's), found it a great instruction on playing finger style solo acoustic guitar. Unfortunately, I haven't really kept up these skills... but that's another story. There's actually a couple of really nice blues numbers in the book. I thought this book actually had much better instruction on playing this style of guitar than the Johnny Norris book (Blues Solos for Acoustic Guitar) that some of us have posted on here (although the Johnny Norris book was all blues based numbers). So how about, anyone else have any personal favorite guitar books? Bruce |
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Post by jack1982 on Oct 11, 2014 11:24:05 GMT -6
Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar by Troy Stetina - www.amazon.com/Speed-Mechanics-Lead-Guitar-Stetina/dp/0793509629/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413047288&sr=8-1&keywords=speed+mechanicsThat one's helped my technique a ton. Lots and lots of exercises - sit down with a metronome and practice them over and over - day after day - gradually increasing the tempo. My picking used to be a complete mess - usually when I'm having trouble playing something it's because of my picking, not what I'm doing with my fretting hand - and this book really teaches you to eliminate wasted movement which is the first step to being able to play all those fast passages without problems. It's got tons of licks and runs etc. to practice. Although most people think of it solely as a technique book for soloing it actually covers other subjects including rhythm playing, shuffle rhythms, playing on offbeats, and even has a section aimed at songwriting. It's also got some songs in it like Flight of the Bumble Bee, Caprice #10 by Paganini, and Prelude in D by Bach. You'll need to be nearly a virtuoso to play them like Troy does  Most (though not all) of the examples are played on the CD with heavy metal distortion. Troy is definitely a heavy metal player, but this sort of technique practice is certainly applicable to blues and any other style as well. |
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Post by bluesbruce on Oct 12, 2014 7:10:11 GMT -6
Jack, thanks for that input - that's just the kind of feedback I was looking for. Now the really funny thing is that I think I may have that book! I think I remember looking at it, maybe doing the first couple of lessons, and thinking it was sort of a "learn to shred" kind of thing, and filing it away... I'm certainly in agreement with you in that study outside of your chosen "style" can improve your technique and expand your musical horizons.
Bruce
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Post by jack1982 on Oct 12, 2014 7:45:48 GMT -6
Bruce it doesn't surprise me you've got it - I think you've got more unused guitar books than I do LOL  You're right it is a "learn to shred" book, but it's the "mechanics" of playing fast, which are the same regardless of style. |
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Post by Phil on Oct 12, 2014 8:23:31 GMT -6
This isn't exactly a book, but Steve Krenz's "Learn and Master Blues Guitar" is a good course and reasonably priced for what you get. I haven't systematically gone through it, and probably never will at this stage of the game. However, every now and then I'll watch one of the videos and pick up something. It doesn't have a lot of licks and has no full 12 bar tunes, but he gives you the the tools you need to build a solid foundation. This is a great course for someone just getting into the Blues and are relatively new to the guitar. I laid this (and everything else) aside when I got bitten by the BYCU bug.  I got hooked on the BYCU studies. John G's approach just appealed to me. I also like Johnny Norris's "Blues Solos for Acoustic Guitar," but again, I haven't dedicated any time to it. But I will - someday.  I also watch Griff Hamlin, Justin Sandercoe, Dave Moore (Old School Blues Guitar), Antony (Texas Blues Alley), and Nick Manion (Secret Guitar Guitar Teacher) on Youtube quite a bit. Even if I don't do anything other than watch their videos I almost always pick up some good tips. Marty Schwartz was my introduction to on-line instruction, but he seems to target raw beginners more than anything (that's probably where the $$$ are  ) and I got tired of him fast. Brian at Active Melody often has some very good stuff, but it's tedious to watch him explain every chord every time. If you don't know your chords you probably can't play what he is teaching anyway. So what's the point? I also try to watch Steve Krenz's weekly videocast regularly. That is almost always interesting and educational. |
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Post by cunningr on Oct 12, 2014 8:36:13 GMT -6
Yeh I watch some of Marty Swartz from time to time. I also had a premium membership to Brian's site which will allow you access to tab and a more compressed version of his video lessons. I also grins blues guitar unleashed but Phil got me turned on to BYCU which I like, but am,still planning on doing the other course.
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Post by Phil on Oct 12, 2014 10:17:46 GMT -6
.... still planning on doing the other course. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men..... |
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Post by bluesbruce on Oct 12, 2014 13:35:59 GMT -6
Bruce it doesn't surprise me you've got it - I think you've got more unused guitar books than I do LOL LOL! Jack, you've got me pegged right in the crosshairs! Oy, that hurts! I've had this hobby for quite a few years and have amassed quite a collection. Bruce  |
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Post by blackcountrymick on Oct 12, 2014 13:46:32 GMT -6
Bruce it doesn't surprise me you've got it - I think you've got more unused guitar books than I do LOL LOL! Jack, you've got me pegged right in the crosshairs! Oy, that hurts! I've had this hobby for quite a few years and have amassed quite a collection. Bruce Man, I relate so much to this!!! |
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Post by jack1982 on Oct 12, 2014 13:59:13 GMT -6
You guys both realize that your collections will never be complete until you get:  |
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Post by bluesbruce on Oct 12, 2014 14:07:20 GMT -6
This isn't exactly a book, but Steve Krenz's "Learn and Master Blues Guitar" is a good course and reasonably priced for what you get. I haven't systematically gone through it, and probably never will at this stage of the game. However, every now and then I'll watch one of the videos and pick up something. It doesn't have a lot of licks and has no full 12 bar tunes, but he gives you the the tools you need to build a solid foundation. This is a great course for someone just getting into the Blues and are relatively new to the guitar. I laid this (and everything else) aside when I got bitten by the BYCU bug. I got hooked on the BYCU studies. John G's approach just appealed to me. I also like Johnny Norris's "Blues Solos for Acoustic Guitar," but again, I haven't dedicated any time to it. But I will - someday. I also watch Griff Hamlin, Justin Sandercoe, Dave Moore (Old School Blues Guitar), Antony (Texas Blues Alley), and Nick Manion (Secret Guitar Guitar Teacher) on Youtube quite a bit. Even if I don't do anything other than watch their videos I almost always pick up some good tips. Marty Schwartz was my introduction to on-line instruction, but he seems to target raw beginners more than anything (that's probably where the $$$ are ) and I got tired of him fast. Brian at Active Melody often has some very good stuff, but it's tedious to watch him explain every chord every time. If you don't know your chords you probably can't play what he is teaching anyway. So what's the point? I also try to watch Steve Krenz's weekly videocast regularly. That is almost always interesting and educational. Phil, online guitar instruction is a whole other can of worms, isn't it? I've also been though most of Griff Hamlin's "Blues Guitar Unleashed" and would give it high marks. I like the way Justin Sanderoe will teach a specific song (and we all need more repertoire, don't we?). I had looked at "Learn and Master Blues Guitar", but I'm kind of glad I didn't buy it to hear your commentary on it. Now that's an interesting theory about Marty and raw beginners... If you look at a "pyramid" of guitarists, there's only a very few (your Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jack White kind of guys) hanging out at the top of it. But at the bottom of the pyramid, there's a whole lot more nameless guitarists and budding guitarists. If you are trying to sell guitar instructional materials, where do you think the money is to be made? Well I'm thinking that those guys at the top of the pyramid probably aren't buying much instructional material in the first place, and there's not a whole lot of them. But those at the bottom, well the only way they can even begin to scale the pyramid is via some kind of instruction, so there's lots of them buying (and thus money to be made here). Now the problem I see is those of us who are somewhere part way up the pyramid. We still need instruction, but as the numbers become smaller, theres not so much money to be made, so it becomes harder to find appropriate instructional material. This leads to the problem you express about Brian at Active Melody - including too much "beginner" info in something that really should be "intermediate" level (trying to satisfy the larger "masses" of raw beginners and thus frustrating those beyond this point). I think most of us on this board are pretty well beyond "raw beginners", so I thought it would be a good group to question about instruction books (and other sources, too) that they've found particularly helpful and well done. Bruce |
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Post by bluesbruce on Oct 12, 2014 14:13:04 GMT -6
You guys both realize that your collections will never be complete until you get: Now, Jack, that's one guitar book I DON'T have. Can you post us some recordings from it? You could make some videos - featuring some platform souls and Spandex, maybe even some glitter in your hair. Maybe we'll ALL want to get it... Bruce |
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Post by jack1982 on Oct 12, 2014 15:12:28 GMT -6
You guys both realize that your collections will never be complete until you get: Now, Jack, that's one guitar book I DON'T have. Can you post us some recordings from it? You could make some videos - featuring some platform souls and Spandex, maybe even some glitter in your hair. Maybe we'll ALL want to get it... Bruce Bruce, you do NOT want to see me in spandex...trust me on this one |
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Post by Phil on Oct 12, 2014 16:36:49 GMT -6
Phil, online guitar instruction is a whole other can of worms, isn't it? I've also been though most of Griff Hamlin's "Blues Guitar Unleashed" and would give it high marks. I like the way Justin Sanderoe will teach a specific song (and we all need more repertoire, don't we?). I had looked at "Learn and Master Blues Guitar", but I'm kind of glad I didn't buy it to hear your commentary on it. Now that's an interesting theory about Marty and raw beginners... If you look at a "pyramid" of guitarists, there's only a very few (your Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jack White kind of guys) hanging out at the top of it. But at the bottom of the pyramid, there's a whole lot more nameless guitarists and budding guitarists. If you are trying to sell guitar instructional materials, where do you think the money is to be made? Well I'm thinking that those guys at the top of the pyramid probably aren't buying much instructional material in the first place, and there's not a whole lot of them. But those at the bottom, well the only way they can even begin to scale the pyramid is via some kind of instruction, so there's lots of them buying (and thus money to be made here). Now the problem I see is those of us who are somewhere part way up the pyramid. We still need instruction, but as the numbers become smaller, theres not so much money to be made, so it becomes harder to find appropriate instructional material. This leads to the problem you express about Brian at Active Melody - including too much "beginner" info in something that really should be "intermediate" level (trying to satisfy the larger "masses" of raw beginners and thus frustrating those beyond this point). I think most of us on this board are pretty well beyond "raw beginners", so I thought it would be a good group to question about instruction books (and other sources, too) that they've found particularly helpful and well done. Bruce Wow, Bruce, it looks like we've been down the same path. I'm sure many others here also have. There's no doubt that teaching beginners is where the money is, because there is a constant flow of them. Most will drop out once they discover that playing the guitar takes a lot of tedious, repetitive, hard work, and then others will step in and take their place. I hope I didn't sound like I was criticizing Marty Schwartz because he's trying to make money. I'd probably do the same thing. But it does get frustrating when somebody like Brian plays something that could not possibly be played by a beginner, but starts to teach it by explaining how to play an "A" at the 5th fret.  |
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Post by bluesbruce on Oct 12, 2014 19:41:53 GMT -6
Bruce, you do NOT want to see me in spandex...trust me on this one Jack, I swear I don't want to see that, but there's a whole world of people out there on Youtube... and one video like that could revitalize the music you love! You've got to at least think about it. Bruce (with tongue very much in cheek) I also apologize - that should have been platform SOLES. |
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Post by bluesbruce on Oct 12, 2014 20:01:08 GMT -6
Wow, Bruce, it looks like we've been down the same path. I'm sure many others here also have. There's no doubt that teaching beginners is where the money is, because there is a constant flow of them. Most will drop out once they discover that playing the guitar takes a lot of tedious, repetitive, hard work, and then others will step in and take their place. I hope I didn't sound like I was criticizing Marty Schwartz because he's trying to make money. I'd probably do the same thing. But it does get frustrating when somebody like Brian plays something that could not possibly be played by a beginner, but starts to teach it by explaining how to play an "A" at the 5th fret. Phil, I know what you mean about that "A" at the 5th fret thing! I thought it would be interesting to hear if anyone else had found some useful books or courses. I had a feeling I wasn't the only "guitar book collector". There's very few I've found as good as the BYCU series, that's for sure! Bruce |
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Post by joachim on Oct 13, 2014 2:10:38 GMT -6
I bought "Guitar Aerobics" by Troy Nelson, which has generally received good reviews. I also like it, and in periods I've been very diligent about doing the exercises.
I recently bought another book by the same author "Rhythm 365", which, as the title suggests, contains a different rhythm figure for each day. And that book as simply marvelous. Each week picks up a different chord progression, and then you use that progression for different styles each day (rock, blues, country, funk, R&B, jazz, etc.). It's something I need much more at this point than playing scales super fast, and you still need to be good at string skipping, slide-ins, etc., which you would practice in the other book "Guitar Aerobics". The book is also very particular about counting different times, learning different chords and voicing, efficient fingering positions for the exercises, transposing figures to different keys, etc. It's really a gold-mine for someone at my level, and it's FUN! I can get sidetracked and do a particular catchy exercises all night.
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Post by jack1982 on Oct 13, 2014 5:45:05 GMT -6
Bruce, you do NOT want to see me in spandex...trust me on this one Jack, I swear I don't want to see that, but there's a whole world of people out there on Youtube... and one video like that could revitalize the music you love! You've got to at least think about it. Bruce (with tongue very much in cheek) I also apologize - that should have been platform SOLES. Ya know, considering the state of popular music these days, maybe what the world needs is somebody like me - who's already on a mission from God - to bring back disco! I actually bought that book because there are some cool songs in my Funk Bass Bible and sure enough, the Disco Guitar Bible had the guitar tab for several of them. Most of them are straight funk - lots of 16th note strumming and triad inversions up and down the neck. I was playing around with a few of them yesterday but then I got sidetracked and started working on the bass line for Funk #49 by the James Gang. But ya never know; maybe I'll post a Bee Gee's song one of these days |
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Post by bluesbruce on Oct 13, 2014 6:32:02 GMT -6
I bought "Guitar Aerobics" by Troy Nelson, which has generally received good reviews. I also like it, and in periods I've been very diligent about doing the exercises. Wow, Joachim, I'm pretty sure I've got that one filed away, too. LOL! The "Rhythm 365" one sounds interesting, but I'm seriously resisting the urge to buy any more guitar books...really I am! Bruce |
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Post by bluesbruce on Oct 13, 2014 6:48:07 GMT -6
Here's another one that I really enjoyed: "Swing Guitar" by Marcy Marxer www.amazon.com/Swing-Guitar-Book-3-CDs/dp/0793599350/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413203333&sr=8-1&keywords=swing+guitar+marcy+marxerThis book and 3 CD course (was three cassettes when I got it!) again kind of assumes you're beyond a beginner, and takes you through technique, chord progressions, and some good repertoire in the Texas swing style of music (think Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys). Again, kind of like that finger style guitar book, it may not be a musical style that appeals to many, but it's fun to play and sounds pretty cool. This course is pure rhythm - doesn't cover any lead playing. I used to play only acoustic - didn't even own an electric for years, so I may be coming at this from an entirely different direction than a lot of you. This one is kind of like BYCU, in that it assumes you know some basics, but don't really know anything about this style. The lessons then progress in difficulty and build on previous lessons. If you go through it and dedicate practice to it, by the time you get to the end, you'll be able to play this style of rhythm guitar. I guess I kind of like lesson series like this, and that's one of the shortcomings of the ten minute Youtube lessons - they don't progress in any cohesive manner toward any end goal. Bruce |
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I got hooked on the BYCU studies. John G's approach just appealed to me. 
) and I got tired of him fast. Brian at Active Melody often has some very good stuff, but it's tedious to watch him explain every chord every time. If you don't know your chords you probably can't play what he is teaching anyway. So what's the point?
